Wassaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaabi

I admit, I love it when people send me product samples. I’m a junkie for trying new foods and products. So when the folks over at Real Wasabi asked me if I’d like to take 1/4lb of wasabi rhizomes for a spin, I said… SURE!

Most people have probably never eaten real wasabi. Most of the wasabi that you get in sushi restaurants or that is used as a flavoring for snacks and other products is really just white horseradish that is colored green. From a botanical perspective, Wasabi (Wasabia japonica) has little or no relation to white horseradish, and in terms of actual flavor, its really a lot different.

An apt comparison would be how most people perceive the cinnamon used on their French toast or as a common spice as real cinnamon, but in most cases it isn’t — real cinnamon comes from the rare bark of a tree that grows in Ceylon, as opposed to the bark of the Vietnamese cassia tree,  the most common substitute.

Similarily, real Wasabi is grated wasabi rhizome, not white horseradish which most common wasabi powder comes from. Although both plants are from the crucifer family, they really taste very different. Wasabi has almost an “electric”  taste with a very distinctive tingling sensation produced, which horseradish does not. What it does have in common with horseradish is its incredible pungency, although it is much more fleeting in effect.

One of the reasons why white horseradish is substituted for wasabi is that up until very recently, it only grew in Japan, and importing it was unbelievably expensive. In the last 10 years, two companies have started cultivating it in the US. One company is Pacific Farms FreshWasabi.com, which is based out of Oregon, distributes its product primarily in paste form and until recently did sell fresh wasabi rhizome.

RealWasabi.com is one of the few and I think the only company in the US that actually sells rhizome and grows domestically and ships to anyone who wants them. The company has its own farm based in the mountain region of western North Carolina, where the altitude and the temperate climate has proven to be good for growing Wasabia japonica.

Even domestically grown wasabi is a rare treat, and should be used sparingly. Wasabi Rhizome from RealWasabi.com costs $100 per pound and $55.00 per half pound. The fresh rhizomes have a shelf life of approximately 30 days in the refrigerator, if wrapped in a damp paper towel and kept in a plastic Zip-Lock bag.

1/4lb of Fresh wasabi rhizomes, shipped direct from North Carolina from the folks at RealWasabi.com.

Whazzaaaa with the wasabi? Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

The Finger-Lickin’ Ginormous Carolina ‘Q Post

Over the summer months in 2008, I’ve spent a lot of time in the Carolinas, in particular, the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area (The Triangle) and also the Columbia, South Carolina area. Two cities which are as different as can be from a cultural and socio-economic perspective, but which do share something in common — Barbecue.

Even if you are trying to shed the pounds like I am, when you travel, maintaining discipline can be extremely difficult, especially when you are surrounded by co-workers who want to go out and have a good time. And when you’re in the South with a bunch of out-of-town males, particularly in the Carolinas, evening entertainment can usually be classified into two distinct areas — ones which involve Pork and ones which do not. I’m not going to get into the details of the ones which do not, because that could get me in trouble with the wife.

Here are all my Carolina Barbecue sins exposed, some of which I am proud of and would repeat again, and some of which I would not.

Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

Triangle Dining: Korean Food

On cold rainy days away from home, I want a taste of Jersey. For me, that means Korean food.

The Korean community in the Triangle is relatively small, but it is growing steadily, and a  few restaurants have popped up to support the local taste for home style Korean dishes. During my stay in the Raleigh-Durham area I found two that I enjoyed.

Chosun Ok Korean B.B.Q
2105 E Highway 54, Durham NC
(919) 806-1213

Chosun Ok Restaurant

Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

Triangle Dining: Poole’s Downtown Diner

Poole’s Downtown Diner
426 S. McDowell Street, Raleigh, NC 27601
919.832.4477

Web Site: http://www.poolesdowntowndiner.com

The Triangle area has such a bounty of wonderful local produce and ingredients. One such place that is focusing on the organic and sustainable is Poole’s, a small funky eatery-cum-wine bar-cum-bistro with a diner theme located near the Convention Center construction zone on the site of a former pie shop. Here the talented Ashley Christensen (formerly of Enoteca Vin) is serving fresh and delicious simple  dishes using the best stuff she can source.

This downtown storefront in Raleigh in the midst of the construction zone is serving some of the best casual local cuisine in the city. Watch yourself while crossing the street, it’s practically a NASCAR track.

Poole’s is no ordinary diner. Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

Triangle Dining: China Palace

China Palace Restaurant
5210 Garrett Rd, Durham NC
(919) 493-3088

While the Triangle area seems to have an abundance of delicious ethnic cuisine, it appears to be lacking in authentic Chinese restaurants. I had pretty much given up on the idea of finding good Chinese food until a Google search revealed some positive blog posts about China Palace, a small Cantonese/Sichuan/Hunan restaurant in Durham. I like this place so much, that I’ve already been to it twice and its already become my “go to” local Chinese. The portions are big, so expect leftovers for lunch the next day.

China Palace looks like a dinky, run of the mill Chinese Restaurant. Don’t let this distract you, go right in.

On a busy night, don’t be surprised if you have to wait 15-20 minutes for a table. This place is real popular with the locals.

Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

Remembering China 46: “House Special” Spicy Capsicum Saute

When a favorite restaurant dies, you undergo a bereavement process as a former patron. You try to replace it with another one, usually failing to do so. Then occasionally, you come across a dish at another place that tastes familiar, but doesn’t -quite- get there. You see glimmerings of the original, enough to make you do a double take, but then you come to your senses and again realize you are someplace else. Its like walking down the street and seeing someone who resembles another person who has been dead for years, or playing with another person’s pet that looks remarkably similar to one of yours which passed away. You tear up a bit, think about the good times, and then move on.

Such as it is with my favorite Chinese restaurant, China 46, which closed down in September of 2007. I haven’t taken this loss particularly well, as there were a lot of dishes that were prepared there that I cannot get at any other Shanghai/Sichuan restaurant I’ve been to, and this includes the very good local newcomers such as Chengdu 1 and Petite Soochow, which I recommend heartily. I thought I had moved on until I had this dish recently at China Palace restaurant, a small authentic Chinese place in Durham, North Carolina:

Spicy Capsicum Pepper Saute with Pressed Tofu, from China Palace restaurant in Durham, NC.

This dish closely resembles another dish at China 46 restaurant, which was called “House Special Saute” and consisted of ground pork with finely chopped Chinese green peppers and pressed tofu, in a spicy Sichuan hot bean sauce. The China Palace version here is excellent, using julienne pressed tofu and shredded pork, but it is not the same — the China 46 one was drier and less saucy and a much finer dice.

Once I had this dish, I was committed to faithfully replicating the China 46 version, at least as close as to it I could recall. I don’t have original photos of the dish I am trying to replicate, so I am just going from memory here.

Spicy Sichuan Capsicum Saute, fondly remembered and re-created from the late China 46 restaurant in Ridgefield Park, NJ.

Re-Create this fantastic Sichuan dish in your own home. Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

Triangle Dining: Jason in the Raleigh News and Observer

Read the rest of this story on the Raleigh News & Observer site (click)

Podcast #45: Whole Hog at The Pit with Ed Mitchell

The Pit Authentic Barbecue
328 W. Davie Street, Raleigh NC
(919) 890-4500

Web Site: http://thepit-raleigh.com

Click Here to Listen to the Ed Mitchell Whole Hog Podcast

Click Here to see a short video clip of the Whole Hog BBQ Smoking Process

Related Post: VarmintBites — The Pit Is Great, and They’re Open for Lunch!

Related Multimedia: Ed Mitchell A/V Presentation at Raleigh News and Observer

Click Here for a Hi-Res Slide Show of The Pit Restaurant in Raleigh, NC

Podcast #46: Momofuku of the South — Charlie Deal and Jujube Restaurant

Jujube Restaurant
1201-L Raleigh Rd, Glen Lennox Shopping Center (next to BIN 54)
Hwy 54 at 15-501, Chapel Hill, NC 27514
(919) 960-0555

Web Site: http://jujuberestaurant.com/

Click to Listen to the Off The Broiler Podcast

Charlie Deal, Northern California transplant and Chef/Owner of Jujube Restaurant in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

A sampling of Jujube’s eclectic Asian Fusion cuisine.

Click Here to view a Hi-Res Slide Show of Jujube Restaurant

Triangle Dining: Pho 9N9

Pho 9N9 Vietnamese Cuisine
2945 S Miami Blvd, Durham, NC 27703
(919) 544-4496

It’s no secret now that I’ve been staying in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area for the past several weeks, traveling back and forth between my home in New Jersey on a four month project. The RDU/Triangle area, while not as ethnically diverse as say, San Jose and the Silicon Valley, is of equal importance to our nation’s high tech industry, due to the presence of many large technology companies in the Research Triangle and surrounding areas. And as we all know, you can’t feed computer geeks without having decent Asian food around.

The weather is just starting to turn warm here, so I’ve been in the mood for light cuisine. I was pointed towards Pho 9N9, a small Vietnamese pho shop that is on the outskirts of Durham, by my old friend, fellow foodblogger and native Triangle resident Varmint.

Pho 9N9 is located in a rather non-descript and rather industrial looking strip mall, which houses mostly commercial businesses. That’s just fine with me.

Serious Pho in the Triangle. Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.